Wozniacki Wins to Earn Trip to U.S. Open Semis

September 7, 2016 | By Brian Coleman
Wozniacki_Semis_Pic
Photo credit: Lee Seidner

Caroline Wozniacki was rock solid again on Tuesday night, jumping ahead early and taking advantage of a hobbled Anastasija Sevastova to advance to the U.S. Open semifinals with a 6-0, 6-2 victory inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Wozniacki broke Sevastova in the opening game of the match to immediately set the tone and in the first point of Wozniacki’s ensuing service game, Sevastova rolled her right ankle reaching for a serve out wide and it affected her the rest of the way.

The two-time former finalist would hold and demolish Sevastova the rest of the opening set, keeping her foot on the gas pedal to win all six games of the first set in 31 minutes.

“For sure it was affecting my play, but I’m not a person that likes to retire during a match so I just tried my best,” Sevastova said. “But the movement was different. It was harder to move. And it was harder to serve.”

The Sevastova injury clearly limited her ability to move but Wozniacki was going to be tough to beat no matter what on Tuesday. Her dominance continued into the second, breaking Sevastova once again to start the set and opened up a 4-0 lead after breaking the Latvian again.

“I think I was just extra focused, because I saw her fall in that second game. She stood up, and I knew if she can still walk and still put weight on it and stuff then she's going to obviously go for her shots,” said Wozniacki.”I kept serving well and made her run. I'm pleased with how I managed to keep composed.”

The final four games of the set would be more competitive with Sevastova holding serve in her final two service games to get on the board, but Wozniacki would serve the match out on her first chance for another straight-set victory.

Since trailing Svetlana Kuzntsova 0-4 in the first set of her second round match last week, Wozniacki has now won 48 of the last 65 games she has played.

“I feel like I have a bit of a home court advantage when I step out on court,” Wozniacki said of the New York crowd. “The crowd is always supporting me and is sweet to me. I think it helps I played so well here in the past. It’s just a great combination.”

Wozniacki moves on to face Angelique Kerber in the semifinals. The second-seed Kerber defeated last year’s finalist Roberta Vinci 7-5, 6-0 earlier in the day.

“She’s a great competitor. She looks fit, so it’s going to be a tough one,” said Wozniacki. “I haven’t really thought about it yet. I just kind of want to enjoy this moment first.”


Brian Coleman

 Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com

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